


The Taxi Chronicles: Always Darkest Before the Dawn

by jb_mar



Series: The Pretty Bent Party [1]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Character Death, Character Study, Dreiden crying over his crush's dead body, Fluff and Angst, Kaiden - Freeform, M/M, Sweet Party Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-01 16:31:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15147221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jb_mar/pseuds/jb_mar
Summary: The Desert of Taxi is an extremely harsh environment for most. Droughts are more common than gold, slaves break their back for the upper class, magic is mysteriously vanishing from certain spots, the entire country is overrun by crime. Who better to save it than this local group of shitheads? Follow this disaster party made up of Ankhira the tabaxi cleric, Atreus the half elf blood hunter, Doctor Sally Holiday Braxton PHD the human barbarian, Dreiden the tiefling gunslinger, Frey the air genasi ranger, Kairus the tiefling bard, Kam the halfling rogue and Phyrra the elven rogue as they stumble their way through encounter after encounter!A collection of character drabbles and pieces based from the point of view of Dreiden, my character and son.Ankhira belongs to NoelAtreus belongs to GageDoctor Sally Holiday Braxton PHD belongs to DavidFrey belongs to AriKairus belongs to PeejKam belongs to OakPhyrra belongs to SarahThe DM is PB





	The Taxi Chronicles: Always Darkest Before the Dawn

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the Pretty Bent Party saga! Our unnamed party is currently my favorite thing to write about and I just wanted to have a collection of stories of them posted on my ao3, because I believe others may really enjoy these characters and their personalities. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do! We're going to start out here with some high key angst with a character resurrection, but I swear there's eventually going to be fluff involved!
> 
> \- Jules

The first shot sounded like a thunderstorm. Loud and cacophonous, the metal bullet spiraled, ricocheting off the ceiling, reverberating down the hall, and ultimately bouncing off a nearby stalactite shielding Kam’s tiny body. The second seemed to shake the whole room. With a roaring explosion, Drei’s feet began to move, his boots struggling to get a hold of the ground as he startled, and suddenly his body hit the floor. The little tiefling grit his teeth as he felt the pain blossoming in his left shoulder, peeling through his veins. Dreiden’s eyes darted around the angular cavern, searching frantically for any hiding spots. A flash of white cloak caught his eye and Dreiden blindly fired in the direction of color. He missed, shielding his eyes as a piece of rock from above shattered, sending thousands of fractals tumbling down, coating him in a fine layer of dirt. “Ambush!” He managed to shout, coughing through the rubble as he managed to stand.

The rest of the party had caught onto as much it seemed. As Dreiden struggled to catch his footing, out of the corner of his eye he caught a flash of spotted fur streaking past him with feral instinct. Atreus’ haunches were up, his eyes painted a primal red. The hyena rushed forward, nose high in the air before narrowing in on his target. Dreiden watched as the animal bounded around the corner with a snarl before hearing a surprised shriek and the growl of an apex predator ready to kill. 

Wind whipped past his head as Dreiden stood in a moment of shock. Turning around, he spotted both Phyrra and Frey just behind him, bows recently released. Slowly, his hand raised to his ear, pulling back to see the tiniest bit of blood. Dreiden felt a hand on his shoulder and instinctively yelped, aiming his gun in the rush and firing point blank into the abdomen of the cloaked figure trying to grab a hold of him, now with two arrows already embedded in his chest. His attacker twitched as his shot resonated through the cavern and went limp, his grip on Dreiden’s shoulder loosening as he slid down the tiefling’s body. 

Dreiden let loose a breath he had no idea he had been holding. Dazed, Dreiden shoved the body off of him, a chill running up his spine. He could hear the shots all firing around him, a hundred guns drowning him in black powder and smoke. The little tiefling’s hand darted to his throat, feeling his esophagus beginning to tighten. His heart quickened as each bullet grew louder and louder. Dreiden fought to keep his breathing down. His focus shifted in a panic, trying to keep his eyes on where the bullets were coming from, but one after the other like shooting stars they darted through the air. One struck him hard in the back, sending him collapsing to the ground, his head cracking on solid stone. Grunting, Dreiden struggled to stand, wobbling on two unbalanced legs before- BAM! Seemingly from nowhere, another bullet collided with bone marrow. Dreiden could feel the bone in his calf splintering and he cried out in shock. His knee hit the ground with a painful thud as he fought to keep himself calm. The tiefling hissed as the pain radiated through his body. 

Eyes flickering open, he could see his friends around him. Doctor Sally stood strong not a hundred feet away from him, her club above her head, eyes gleaming with a gaze similar to Atreus’ as she knocked her Kaiju into the jaw of an armed enemy. Ankhira stood tall, Kam atop her back, both surrounded and cornered. Dreiden realized he was in the middle of it all, like an axis. Revolving around him was his world, his damage, and here he was taking the brunt of the force. Everything slowed as Dreiden blinked. He shifted slightly on the ground in an attempt to reach his weapon, but in doing so caught the attention of a hunter. Time stopped as he made eye contact with the figure in white. Dreiden flinched as he watched the cloud of smoke erupt from the barrel, obscuring his view of his attacker. Dreiden’s lip quivered slightly as the bullet surged towards his eyeline, yet he made no attempt to move. His breath caught, but his knees were nailed to the ground. In a moment of acceptance, Dreiden shut his eyes, waiting for the impact, practically begging for it to come.

Then, almost as if he were underwater, Dreiden heard the soft gurgle of what could have been mistaken in his out of body state as his name. As he braced himself for the final blow, a one second passed. Two seconds passed. Three seconds passed and suddenly Dreiden felt warm, familiar callused hands gripping his biceps, shaking him frantically. “Dreiden!?” The voice of Kairus brought him out of his state of comatose terror. 

Opening his eyes, Dreiden immediately found his gaze floating over Kairus’ shoulder to where his attacker had shot him from. Pinned to the wall by a dagger through her heart, the hood fell back to reveal a young woman with long, stringy blonde hair, her eyes sunken, a small trickle of blood running from her mouth. His eyes shot back to Kairus as the young tiefling’s hand cautiously pressed against his cheek, forcing him to look him in the eyes. “Dreiden… Dreiden, look at me! Are you okay? Were you hit? Oh god, were you hit?!” Kairus shook Dreiden slightly harder, looking for a response. “Drei… C’mon, talk to me! Where were you hurt?!”

But Dreiden was no longer paying attention to Kairus’ words. Something else had caught the little white tiefling’s eye as Kairus noisily began to fuss over him. His eyes were wide, his arms slack at his side as Kairus continued to shake him like a rubber doll, unresponsive. “Dreiden, c’mon, you’re freaking me out! Say something! Anything!” Kairus’ voice was frantic now, and there was a nervous sweat beading on his forehead, but all of that completely slipped past Dreiden as he continued to stare at Kairus’ chest, a look of horror plastered on his face.

“Kairus…” He breathed warily, breaking the silence with a voice barely a whisper. “What… What have you done?”

Kairus looked over the other, confused for a moment before his own eyes widened in realization. Following Dreiden’s gaze, he looked down, eyeing up the damp patch of deep crimson staining his clothes just below his heart. Kairus’ breathing staggered for a moment, blinking at the mess before scoffing. “Huh.” He muttered, staring at this fatal wound the same way anyone else would a papercut. “Found the bullet.”

Like clockwork failing, Kairus suddenly seized, starting to collapse sideways. With lightning reflexes, Dreiden caught him before his head had a chance to smack into the stonework. Dreiden cradled Kairus’ head close to his chest for a moment, taking the second to clear his head. He frantically got to work, laying the sunny yellow tiefling down and beginning to take off his own starry cloak. Quickly, he ripped a piece from the fabric, balling it up in his hands and using it to apply pressure to the already bleeding out wound. “No… No, no, no, no, no, no, no, Ankhira!” Dreiden’s voice was distorted through the tears now welling up in the back of his throat. “ANHKIRA!”

Strings of spit flew from Dreiden’s mouth as he screamed, practically ripping his vocal chords to get the attention of the cleric. His whole body trembled as he struggled to weakly apply pressure to the wound. His white fingers were now stained red with gore, like red wine on a white carpet painting up his arms. “Kai... Why did you do that, why, why, why?” Dreiden burbled, his words barely comprehensible as he fought to speak. 

Kairus shook his head, groaning as he did so. “Couldn’t let you take it. You already got two.” He spoke sleepily as if he had already begun to fade out. His eye fixated on Dreiden’s now blood-caked hands, chuckling at the sight of his own blood. “There’s a lot of that inside me, isn’t there?”  
“Usually, but right now there’s a lot of it outside of you, which is a problem.”

Dreiden flinched as Kairus began to dissolve into a full on laughing fit, his vocals becoming distorted. “You’re funny, Dreiden, you know that? No one’s ever really appreciated how funny you are. But, I like that about you.”

Dreiden let him speak but wasn’t really paying attention to his words. “Yes, yes, I’m glad. ANKHIRA!” Dreiden called once more, glancing over his shoulder.  


He could see the cleric on the opposite side of the cavern, still cornered by the white robes individuals. The little halfling rogue was assisting her in fighting them off, darting in between feet and attacking the mongrels from behind. Dreiden wanted to help, wanted to reach his gun, but in doing so would loosen his pressure on Kairus’ chest, and he couldn’t allow that. “Just hold on for me…” He muttered absentmindedly as he silently began praying to his goddess under his breath.  


“I would do anything for you.” The words shook the tiefling so much he nearly stopped praying and started a coughing fit right there.  


Dreiden blinked, shocked by this strange confession here and now, but regained his focus, nodding. “Right… Then do this for me, please… Stay with me for just a little while longer. Ankhira’s almost here. She’ll fix you up real good.” He cood, lovingly pushing the man’s dreadlocks out of his face with one hand, leaving a slight blood streak against his forehead.

He pulled the other into his lap, holding him close in order to get a better handle on the situation. Kairus winced as he was moved and Dreiden halfheartedly apologized but continued to apply the needed pressure. “Everything will be fine. I promise. And once Ankhira fixes you up, I promise, I’ll never let you get shot again. I’ll look after you, I’ll protect you, I’ll-”

“Dreiden.” Kairus cut him off, waving him down to his level. Dreiden leaned down slowly, keeping his hand firmly on the other’s chest as he did, beginning to turn his ear closer to hear, believing he was about to be whispered to. Much to his surprise, Kairus’ hand slowly raised to catch his face and tilt it back on track, leaving a bloody handprint across his snowy cheek. Kairus sat up ever so slightly, grabbing Dreiden’s chin with what little force he had behind him and pulling him into a soft kiss. Dreiden stiffened, tears beginning to trace down his cheeks as his lips met the other’s. Kairus tasted metallic, though Dreiden had a sneaking suspicion that wasn’t normal for him. For a moment, everything was blissful and Dreiden felt as though he were floating before he was suddenly dragged back down to Earth by hard gravity, the same gravity that slowly pulled Kairus away from him as the bard took his last breath. Dreiden could taste Kairus’ life on his tongue as the young man sighed and suddenly his body was nothing but a husk, lifeless and limp on the cavern floor.

Dreiden froze as Kairus slumped over in his lap, staring down blankly at his first love. Silently, he reached forward with a blank expression, trying to shake his arm. “...Kairus?” His voice was small, like a child once more.

Kairus was cold to the touch, a permanent smile frozen on his usually lively face. Dreiden hesitantly reached out to touch him once more, more forcefully rocking him. “Kairus?” He asked again, his tone more mousy as his throat shut entirely. 

“Kairus?”

Dreiden didn’t hear the sound of footsteps approaching as Phyrra and Frey reached them. He didn’t feel Doctor Sally take his arm and help him to stand, or respond to Kam offering him water, or to Atreus sitting stoney next to him, trying to wrack his brain for ways to comfort a grieving child, or even notice Ankhira beginning to set up the resurrection ritual. He heard static and screaming and gunshots in his ears, but none of the words of Phyrra or Atreus as they began to reach out to him, a soul floating around in a sea of nothingness.

He was being pushed forward suddenly, by a strong human hand on his back. “Dreiden… I know you’re hurt, but he probably wants to hear from you.” Doctor Sally’s face was grim, but understanding, almost as though she wished she could be going through this for him. 

Dreiden’s tentative footsteps echoed around the cave as he took a few steps forward. He could see Kairus’ body lifted onto their makeshift altar, cleaned up and calm looking. Dreiden had been to funerals before, sure. He helped out with them many times at the Temple of the Everlight. He used to believe once you had seen one dead body, you had seen them all. That simply wasn’t true this time. As Dreiden looked down at Kairus’ body, all scruff free and arms crossed properly, he didn’t see the neighborhood butcher or a local child died from illness. This was his friend. This was Kairus. This was wrong.

Dreiden fought his feet telling him to step back and continued forward. Looking over the corpse, he reached down to touch his face. Almost as soon as he felt the cold yellow skin, he felt sick to his stomach but forced down the sour bile beginning to build at the back of his throat in favor of speech. “Kairus,” He began, wringing his hands nervously. “I don’t know if you can hear me…”

Dreiden took a moment to look back at the others for approval, Each member of the party gave him a small nod, telling him to continue. Dreiden swallowed the lump in his throat and looked back. “No… I know you can hear me. You’re the only one who always listens. When… When I first met you, things were hard for me. I had a hard time learning to trust. I’d never met someone quite like you. I remember how strange it was the first day we met and I followed you around half the city until someone pointed me out to you. Called me your shadow.”

Dreiden took a deep breath before continuing. “You know what shadows do, Kairus? They follow. They come from light. You can’t have a shadow without light. You can’t have light and not cast a shadow.”

Dreiden reached down, taking Kairus’ hand into his own. It was stiff and clammy, but he raised it to his heart all the same. “Kairus, if I’m your shadow, you’re my light. And I do have another light in my life, don’t get me wrong, which is why I want to take a moment to address my goddess.”

“Sarenrae, Oh Everlight, My Mistress, you’ve given me so much hope my whole life. You are the only reason I’m still here living today. My faith in you is strong, I promise, and you’ve helped me so much. Given me patience. Compassion. Strength. But most importantly, you’ve given me so much hope. My heart is so full of hope. But, My Mistress, I hate to ask you for so much of it so often. So, here is my proposal. Give Kairus all my hope. Give him every bit of it. Fill him with hope and life and light and everything he deserves. And in return, I’ll keep him by my side. I promise I’ll never lose him again, I’ll never let him go, never neglect or forget my love. And I’ll never have to ask you for your hope again because I’ll have it all right here with me.”

Dreiden’s hands were wet now as he brought them to his lips, kissing each of Kairus’ digits softly. “Now… Of course, I wouldn’t ask you to do this for no reason. He’s an amazing person, very talented. He writes songs. They’re very good. I remember one even, I can hum it for you!”

Dreiden could feel the sober energy radiating off of the rest of the party as his inaudible mumbles to his goddess sat like ice in the bellies of his companions, but their demeanor changed as soon as Dreiden started humming the familiar tune. It was one Kairus sang often by the fire, and while Dreiden could never remember the words, he found himself humming the somber melody. The bittersweet high notes were shaky and the low notes were far too low in his range, but the sentiment was there, a solo voice echoing off the cavern walls. Dreiden sniffled between octaves, holding them as long as he could before he was interrupted by another teary sob.  


The tiefling jumped suddenly as he felt a hand on his shoulder. A second voice joined in in round as Frey sat beside him, giving him a small, helpful smile. The air genasi patted his back, letting Dreiden rest his head against his shoulder. One by one, each member of the party approached, connecting themselves to Dreiden. The little tiefling could barely carry the tune anymore, but the voices of the others made up for it as they swirled in a monstrous chorus. Dreiden curled into Frey’s side, rubbing his eyes, defeated. That was it. Kairus was gone. He hadn’t tried hard enough, hadn’t begged, hadn’t pleaded enough, hadn’t-

Dreiden’s head shot up as he heard a weak cough. He sat up straight, eyes full of wonder as Kairus began to stir. He watched the bard try to sit up, groaning before falling flat on his back. “You’re all out of key…” He muttered. “Tone deaf mother-” 

“Kairus!” Dreiden breathed a sigh of relief, pushing past both Anhkira and Atreus and grabbing the other by the face, pulling him into a deep kiss. Despite just barely being alive, Kairus kissed him back, closing his eyes and holding him tight, clinging to Dreiden as if he were an anchor to this world. Once they eventually pulled back, Kairus chuckled, wiping the tears off of Dreiden’s cheeks. “Aww, did you miss me that much?”

“So much more than you know.” Dreiden practically squeaked, pulling him in for another kiss. 

The two stayed interlocked for a moment before a mature female voice cleared her throat. “Alright you two, but if you’re going to “get it on”, I suggest at least waiting a little bit for Kairus to heal. He’s tired, he should probably sleep.” 

Dreiden blushed bright pink at Doctor Sally’s insinuation. “I… No, that’s not… I don’t think… I agree, yes, Kairus needs to rest, but not for-”

“We get it, you’re not gonna bone.” Phyrra teased, a small smirk sneaking onto her facade.

“C’mon Kairus. Let’s get you someplace safer.” Ankhira offered the tiefling her arm, and for once in his life, Kairus went somewhere silently, Anhkira supporting him from one side, Dreiden coddling him from the other.

“Dreiden… Thank you… What you said was very sweet.” Kairus spoke low as they walked. Dreiden could tell Anhkira was listening but trying her best not to pry.

“Every bit of it was true. I’m not going to let that happen to you again.”

“Dreiden, I’m my own person. If I get hurt like that again, it’s not your fault.”

Dreiden pursed his lips, looking away. As he did, Kairus took the opportunity to peck him lightly on the lips. “But, I guess for you I’ll have to try, right?”


End file.
